Erie, Colorado police have arrested a woman accused of sending antisemitic and threatening letters to a fertility doctor and a synagogue.
Charlene Port, 50, is facing charges of stalking and bias motivated crime in Weld District Court, and is set for a hearing on March 8th after being released on $25,000 bond.
According to an arrest affidavit, a retired fertility doctor in Erie called police in February 2020 after receiving a letter from Port, a former patient that he last saw in 2005.
The letter, which is filled with threats and antisemitic language, accuses the doctor of selling her eggs on the black market. A copy of the letter was also sent to a Jewish synagogue in Colorado Springs addressed to the same doctor.
Later in the month, the doctor received another letter, this one saying “My Purim is today, you (sic) Purim is tomorrow.” Purim is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an Achaemenid Persian Empire official who was planning to kill all the Jews.
Later that month, the Department of Regulatory Agencies received a call from Port who said, “I want to go kill him” and mentioned a “shooting spree.”
The doctor received two more letters in April 2020, one of which included the phrase, “Wait until you die,” and another that outlined violence involving a screwdriver and genitals.
Police also found a Facebook page titled Fertility Fraud in Colorado that featured the doctor’s name and address. The page also showed copies of letters with Port’s name on them.
According to the affidavit, police found several other Facebook pages under various names that all appeared to belong to Port and featured the doctor’s name, photo and address along with anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli and anti-government sentiments and posts.
In May, the doctor received a package containing a stuffed pig with the words “die” and the doctor’s name written on its belly, according to the affidavit.
In July 2020, Port was arrested in Las Animas County on a separate attempted kidnapping case out of Crowley County, and police obtained a warrant to search her home.
A search of Port’s computer turned up documents that matched some of the letters the doctor was sent in Erie, according to the affidavit. In addition, Port’s search history included the terms, “how to make a mail bomb,” “Trinidad Walmart Colorado stuff pig animals,” “symbols Jews hate” and searches for the doctor and synagogues in various areas.
Police also found a woman who said Port hired her to cast evil spells on the doctor. A search of Port’s cellphone turned up the message, “Remember when I had you do a death spell on (victim’s name)?”
In addition, Port is also accused of revealing the names and addresses of deputies in another Crowley County case, according to court records.